*REWRITTEN: 6/24/22*
Hello Everyone! Here is the second chapter of my story. I hope you enjoy and leave a review about what you think of it so far. I apologize if I have any spelling mistakes. If you have any ideas for future chapters, reach out to me! I own just Alestia, everything else goes to its rightful owners. I also didn't bother to find the actual voice clips for Bee when he talks. I just rolled with it. (This is how... I had Bee... talk in the... story)
(A-POV)
I awoke to the sound of my cell phone ringing. Groggily, I opened my eyes and glanced at the clock. It was 10:30 am. Realizing my phone wouldn't continue to ring for much longer, I jumped out of bed and jogged to the kitchen table. I looked at the contact name and saw that it was Mikaela.
"Hello?" I mumbled and rubbed my eyes.
Mikaela greeted me with a hearty laugh. "Wow, I woke you up, didn't I!"
"Yeah, how could you tell?" Sarcasm dripped from my voice.
"It's 10:30. I figured you'd be awake by now. You usually never sleep this late."
"It was a long day yesterday." I shrugged.
"Yesterday, you couldn't go to the lake. So, I decided that I'm calling in the hangout-for-free card you graciously gave me. Are you up for going to our favorite fast-food restaurant?"
I beamed and replied, "Of course, Mik! That sounds incredible right now. I could use some fries. I'll meet you there in a half-hour."
As soon as the words had left my mouth, I was hanging up the phone and running to my bedroom. I grabbed a clean pair of underwear and bra, jeans, and a crisp black tee-shirt. I bounded into the bathroom, humming a random tune and turning on the water. 15 minutes later, I was out of the shower, dressed, brushing my teeth, and doing my hair.
After completing my makeup (which I didn't usually wear), I looked myself over in the mirror. Satisfied with my appearance, I grabbed my car keys, phone, and a bit of cash for the bill. I walked out the front door and locked it behind me. I then leaped into my beautiful car and drove to my favorite place.
-0-0-0-
I parked beside Mikaela's motorized scooter and grabbed my belongings. I spotted Mikaela sitting at one of the tables outside.
"Hey, Mikaela!" I called after opening the car door.
She looked in the direction of my voice and smiled, waving me over. I approached her and sat down in the chair opposite her.
"How are you doing?"
She chuckled. "Oh, I'm fine, thanks for asking. Actually, I've been wanting to tell you something. It happened after school."
"Go for it, my dear."
Mikaela took a deep breath and started.
"I had gone with Trent to that party at the lake, and I wanted to drive his wicked truck back home. But he wouldn't let me, and then called me his little bunny before offering to allow me to hop in the backseat." She said with distaste in her voice.
I looked at her in shock, and I felt my face contort into a look of disgust. Despite the rumors that followed her, nobody treated her like a playtoy. There were things that, as a best friend, I could deal with. With Trent hitting on me, I would have a perfectly good explanation to knock him flat on his ass. That, I could handle by myself, without having to risk Mik's social life. His bragging about how many girls he'd fucked in a week last summer, fine. Whatever.
But verbally degrading my best friend? That was something that I couldn't let pass.
"Are you joking?" I whispered furiously. "Who the hell does he think he is? What did you do?"
Mikaela rolled her eyes. "I didn't allow him to treat me like that and get away with it." She smirked and added, "so I opted to walk myself home instead. I walked away. But of all people, Sam Witwicky offered me a drive home."
"That was the kid who presented last in history, right? About his great-grandfather or something?"
"Yeah. He was a bit weird at first, but to be fair I messed up his last name a few times. It was awkward." Mikaela grimaced. "But, he didn't say anything about it. He brushed it off, and then his car broke down. I used the skills Dad taught me and fixed it up. Sam was actually pretty sweet, even though he had a cheesy pickup line. It was-"
Just then, Sam raced by our table on a pink bike that looked like it belonged to his mother. It even had a white basket on the front and tassels hanging off of the handlebars. As he looked behind him, he hit the uplifted piece of sidewalk and flipped over the front of the bike, landing on his back. Mikaela and I both cringed, staring at the boy.
"Sam?" Mikaela asked, bewilderment in her tone.
He groaned in pain. "Hi."
"That was a... that was really- awesome."
Still groaning in pain, he started to get up. "Felt awesome," Sam replied.
I still sat there, staring at him. Hadn't he seen the gigantic concrete slab from down the sidewalk? Mikaela managed to break me out of my trance by asking, "Are you okay?"
"No I'm not okay, I'm losing my mind a little bit. Getting chased by my car right now gotta go." He picked up the bike, jumped back on it, and continued to race down the sidewalk. He acted as if his life depended on it.
I cleared my throat, "Well, that was something, wasn't it?"
Mikaela still sat there, looking at where Sam had fallen. Her mouth had fallen into a small frown, nose scrunching in thought. Glancing at me, she said the one thing I wasn't expecting her to say, "Let's go."
"What?" I replied dumbly.
"You heard me! Let's go follow him. You can hop onto the back of my scooter. I don't have an extra helmet, so deal with it." Mikaela jumped out of her seat and started walking to where she parked her scooter. Even though I disagreed with her thinking, I followed her regardless. Quite frankly, I was as curious as she was, and I wanted to find out what Sam meant when he said he was being 'chased by his car.'
I hopped onto the back of the scooter as she took off down the road, following Sam's path. A police car sped in front of us at an intersection, almost causing us to collide with the vehicle. Mikaela scoffed and shook her head in annoyance while turning to follow it. The car happened to be heading in the direction that Sam had gone in. I gripped her waist and locked my legs around the scooter as she sped up, eager to see what was happening.
It took us a couple of seconds to figure out the exact place Sam had disappeared until he came sprinting out from under a bridge screaming, "Get back! Go!"
Upon spotting him, I told Mikaela to turn into the abandoned parking lot. Still sprinting towards us, he tackled us both off of the scooter. Mikaela's helmet flew off as she landed on her side and I landed on my front. Thankfully, I had thrown my hands up before I made contact with the pavement, effectively protecting my face. Oh shit, that hurt. I thought, clenching my mouth to keep a grunt of irritation from escaping.
I snapped, "What is your problem, Sam?"
He looked at me and motioned in the direction of where he had come from. "Okay, there's a monster right there that just attacked me. Here he comes!"
I looked in the direction he was pointing, and my eyes widened at what looked to be a giant metal robot running at us. He was flipping cars out of his way as he passed them, growling in frustration. I heard a squeal of tires come from behind me. My mouth dropped as I watched a yellow Camaro with faded black racing stripes spin around and trip the robot. It turned and opened its doors, inviting us to jump inside.
"Sam, what is that?" Mikaela asked in a terrified tone.
"You have to get in the car." Mikaela started to argue with the boy until I piped in.
"Mikaela," I said, "Get in the car. Now! Trust me, please."
She looked at me with fear in her eyes, and when I gave a small nod, Sam, Mikaela, and I jumped into the Camaro. I situated myself in the back seat as Mikaela and Sam did the same in the front. I looked behind me out of the back window, and I gasped in horror. The robot transformed into the cop car we saw earlier and began to chase after us.
"HOLY SHIT!" I screamed as both cars started to rapidly speed up. Simultaneously, all three of us started shouting at the car to go faster. "We're gonna die! Oh my god, we're going to DIE!" Mikaela yelled.
"We're not gonna die, no we're not!" Sam yelled right back. "Trust me, he's a kick-ass driver." The car entered an abandoned building, hoping to lose our attacker.
We all started shouting once more when we saw that the Camaro was heading straight for a window. As we crashed into a multitude of boxes and shelves, I glanced out the back and saw that the cop car was still hot on our heels. Instinct kicked in then, and I pulled out the pistol that I always stored in my jacket pocket. I stuck my head out the window and aimed the gun toward the cop car. Ignoring the whipping of hair around my head, I took aim and fired multiple bullets, hoping to hit its tires. I wasn't surprised when it roared in pain and slowed down as a result of the injuries.
Bringing myself back into the Camaro, I saw the look Sam and Mikaela were giving me.
"What? I helped, didn't I?" I asked, looking between them both.
"Since when do you carry a gun around?" Mikaela practically screeched.
I opened my mouth to respond, but the Camaro turned into an alleyway and locked the doors. Sam heard the click and began wrestling with the locks, attempting to release the hold that the car had on us. "We're locked in," Sam said breathlessly, seeing that it was no use.
"Way to go Sam! You just stated the obvious." I retorted. "Now, if I were you, I'd stop struggling and realize that the car locked us in here because he doesn't want us to get out. It risks being spotted. Especially with that thing following right behind." I quirked my eyebrow at the two as they stopped struggling when I had finished talking. The Camaro beeped and clicked quietly, and I guessed that he agreed with my statement.
All of a sudden, everyone heard the cop car drive past us and we all froze in fear. It didn't seem to notice us. The car turned around and stopped. It was as if he was scouting the area, or listening for any movement. That alone was something to worry me. If we didn't move soon, I was certain that he would find us. The Camaro had the same idea, so he tried to start the engine.
"C'mon, c'mon," Sam whispered urgently.
The Camaro gunned it, shooting past the back end of the cop car as he had begun to reverse. Once again, the car was hot on our heels. Instead of driving farther though, the Camaro spun around, opening the doors and throwing us out of the car. In the heat of the moment, none of us had thought to put on our seatbelts. Thus, it hadn't been hard for the Camaro to achieve its goal.
Mikaela, Sam, and I landed in a heap on the ground. I looked back at the car, only to find that it wasn't a car anymore. It had started to transform, exactly as the cop car had earlier. The mechanical whirrs of gears moving and synchronizing echoed throughout the evening air. The yellow robot stationed himself in a protective stance in front of us. It was clear the car talked using small sounds, like beeps and clicks, to communicate. That I knew from their response to my earlier statement.
"What's the plan, big guy?" I shouted up at them, hopping to my feet and clutching the gun. The robot only beeped in response. It was a shame I couldn't understand them. "Okay, let's try something else. Where should I aim?"
The yellow robot vigorously pointed towards the eyes.
"Will do!"
A loud screech of tires brought my attention in front of me. I looked in time to see the cop car transform and tackle the yellow robot to the ground while roaring in rage. As the black robot regained his footing and stood up, he prepped his weapons and released a smaller silver robot. This one was about three-quarters the height of me but seemed equally as menacing. What was surprising was that it seemed to not even notice me. Instead, it ran after Mikaela and Sam, who had turned their backs from the fight, heading in the opposite direction.
Glancing at the two humans, I decided that they were fine and that the bigger robots required my attention. I had full confidence in Mikaela's ability to fight back. Sam, not so much. But I'm sure they'd be fine.
Gearing for a fight, I ran out of the way before massive feet and tumbling metal bodies crushed me. I took cover and proceeded to shoot the black robot, aiming for the eyes. I shot as accurately as I could, rolling out of the way as the yellow robot tackled the other to the ground and threw him aside.
Thankfully, one of my shots hit my target. The cop robot lost his balance while reaching out to grasp his injured eye, giving the other a moment of advantage. One that he didn't bother wasting. While the black robot wasn't focused, the Camaro delivered a hit to his opponent's jaw, knocking him to the ground.
The two robots continued flipping each other onto their backs and delivering hits. At this point, they were moving too fast and too much. My shots wouldn't be near the accuracy level I needed them to be. Even though I didn't want to, I ceased fire and ran out of sight. Many metal clangs later, I finally heard a deep and pain-filled voice fill the air. I peeked out from behind my hiding spot.
The yellow robot was standing over the larger one with his gun aimed at his chest. Sparks were flying from the dark one's chest, his arms hanging limply by his side. When their eyes met, the evil one visibly slouched into himself. It was clear who the winner was this round. I continued watching, intrigued by what the yellow one would do. Would they take advantage of his win and take the killing blow? Or would he let him survive?
Not surprisingly, he chose mercy.
Removing myself from my position, I approached the yellow robot, who was now walking away from the fight. He looked down at me and started playing voice recordings through his radio.
"Those were some... pretty sweet moves there... little lady." The Camaro said.
I huffed a laugh at his way of communicating and looked him in the eye when I replied, "Thanks. It's all part of my training."
He perked up at that. "You have training? Do you have a specialty?"
I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Aiding those who, in the heat of the moment, need my expertise. Combat, recon, things like that."
He lowered himself down on one knee, and ever so gently picked me up and cradled me in the palm of his hand. "What about you?" I asked.
"Scout."
"Can I ask you a question?" My voice turned solemn.
He only nodded.
"Why did you let him live?"
Silence for a moment. Bee looked lost in memories as he replied, "We have a... long history."
I gave him a small, reassuring smile and moved to get more comfortable on his hand. "I can understand that."
With me in tow, he walked towards the place where I assumed Mikaela and Sam were standing.
I spotted the two standing right where I predicted they would be. "Hey, knuckleheads! How's the view from the ground?" I shouted down to them. I then turned to the robot still holding me. "I never got a chance to learn your name," I stated calmly.
"The name's... Bumblebee... but you can call me... Bee." The robot said.
"Alestia. Nice to meet you, Bee, and thank you for your help."
I silently motioned to the ground. Bee set me down as gently as he had picked me up. I took a moment to regain my balance, and then glanced toward Mikaela and Sam. Their mouths were agape, eyes wide and brows raised to the sky. I quirked an eyebrow, taking in their expressions. "Guys, close your mouths before you catch flies," I said in a monotone voice. The two continued to stare at me until Mikaela broke the silence.
"Alestia Nichole Barone, what were you thinking? First, you go running into the fight, and then you let it pick you up?" She demanded.
Now it was my turn to gape. "Mik, you already know that he's one of the good guys, and he proved it by risking his life to protect us from the cop."
It was Bee's turn to answer. "His name... is... Barricade."
She elected to ignore that. "You don't even know what it is."
Sam decided to butt into the conversation now. "It's a robot." No shit Sammy boy. "But like a- like a different- you know. Like a super advanced robot. It's probably Japanese, yeah. It's definitely Japanese."
I rolled my eyes at that last comment. Bee is no Japanese creation. Nothing on Earth was as advanced as him, and there was no possibility of humans even scratching the surface of this type of technological field. Not currently, at least. Sam advanced closer to Bumblebee. "What are you doing?" Mikaela asked in a panicked tone.
"I don't think it wants to hurt us."
"Guys, if he wanted to hurt you he would have done it already." I snorted.
Mikaela turned to me again. "Really, well do you speak robot because they just had, like a giant droid death match."
Sam continued to scoot closer to Bee. "I think it wants something from me."
"What?" Mikaela and I asked in unison.
"Well, cause the other one was talking about my eBay page."
Mik looked at Sam incredulously. "You are the strangest boy I have ever met."
"Can you talk?" Sam yelled at the robot standing before us.
Bumblebee proceeded to play voice recordings of other people. "So you... you talk through the radio?" Sam pointed in the general direction of where the sound came from.
"Thank you, you're beautiful. You're wonderful, you're wonderful." Bee played and clapped along with the cheering crowd in the background of the sound byte. I laughed at this but stopped when Sam gave me a glare over his shoulder.
"So what was that last night? What was that?"
I cocked my head in interest. I hadn't known that he had shown himself to Sam beforehand. Bee pointed towards the sky and played more sound bytes. "Message from Starfleet Captain... through the inanimate vastness of space... angels will rain down like visitors from heaven, Hallelujah!"
"Visitors from heaven, what..." Mikaela murmured. "What are you, like an alien or something?"
"There's more of them," I murmured. I looked at my companions. "They're coming here, to Earth. Visitors from heaven? I guarantee we're gonna be able to see them entering the atmosphere."
Bee pointed at that comment and transformed into the yellow Camaro. "Any more questions you wanna ask?" Bee said while popping the passenger door open.
"He wants us to get in the car," Sam said under his breath.
"And go where?" Mikaela asked.
While Mikaela and Sam were arguing whether they should get in the car, I was already climbing into the backseat.
"Sorry they're taking so long. Mikaela and Sam are feeling a little crazy after everything that's happened tonight." I patted the seat next to me. In reply, Bee chirped with what I assumed was a blessing of forgiveness. I watched the two converse until Sam must have said something to convince Mikaela to enter the car. Before I knew it, we were off once again, driving to another unknown destination.
